Every day, Pinstripe Alley offers updates on what the Yankees’ top American League opponents are up to through the
Rivalry Roundup. The AL East is well-trodden ground there, but with the end of the month upon us, we’re going to take a peek around MLB as a whole and check in with each of the other five divisions. Who’s surprising? Who’s underwhelming? Who’s simply mediocre at the moment? Read on and find out.First Place: Chicago White Sox (45-39)
Top Position Player: Miguel Vargas (3.0 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Davis Martin (2.8 fWAR)
When I wrote
our preview for the 2026 Chicago White Sox, I wrote, “Pope Leo XIV is a White Sox fan…and the good things on the South Side pretty much end there.”
Three months into the season, I will officially admit that I was wrong. Even without Munetaka Murakami, who lit the league on fire for the first two months before hitting the injured list, the White Sox have continued to…well, not exactly roll, as they played barely-over-.500 ball in the month of June, but in a division as weak as the American League Central, that’s been more than enough to keep the good times rolling on the South Side, eyeing their first playoff appearance in five years.
Aside from Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery, Chicago lacks a bat you truly fear, but you know what else they lack? Real holes in their lineup. Thanks to breakout campaigns from Sam Antonacci and Tristan Peters, plus strong platoon performances from Randal Grichuk and signs of life from Andrew Benintendi, only one spot in the White Sox lineup has been below-average: the catcher position, which as we know, is in pretty bad shape offensively throughout the league right now. The end result is that the White Sox have one of the AL’s most dangerous offenses, with an OPS+ of 106 that ranks behind only the Rangers, and a 4.87 runs/game that just barely ranks behind the Yankees’ 4.88.
The pitching staff continues to be a work in progress. Davis Martin is this year’s breakout ace, and Sean Burke has been a nice innings eater, but behind these two, the team has struggled to find any consistency. The best that can be said about Anthony Kay, for example, is that he will take the ball every fifth day, as his platoon splits against right-handed hitters is so bad that his best role, in my opinion, is as a lefty specialist out of the ‘pen. Speaking of, the bullpen has been better, but lacks depth behind Sean Newcomb, Grant Taylor, and Bryan Hudson.
Second Place: Cleveland Guardians (44-42)
Top Position Player: Brayan Rocchio (2.4 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Parker Messick (2.8 fWAR)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. As it seems to be every year, the Guardians once again remain competitors atop the division, simply by demonstrating basic competence on the whole.
The offense has four above-average bats in José Ramírez (currently on the IL), Brayan Rocchio, Travis Bazzana, and Chase DeLauter. With Steven Kwan putting together the worst season of his career by far and Rhys Hoskins showing that he never really recovered from the injury that cost him the 2023 season, the Guardians have put together arguably the worst offense in the American League: their 3.91 runs/game and 90 OPS+ each rank dead last in the Junior Circuit.
As is it seems to be every year, the Cleveland Guardians make up for their offensive woes with a dominant pitching staff. To date, the team has still only used five starting pitchers this season: Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Parker Messick, Slade Cecconi, and Joey Cantillo. Each of them has been at least league-average according to ERA+, with Cecconi’s staff-worst 4.18 ERA coming in at a perfect average 100 ERA+. Getting to the bullpen isn’t exactly a friendly roll of the dice, either, for while Cade Smith and Tim Herrin haven’t been the lockdown relievers they have been in the past, they have more than enough quality depth. Even without Ramírez for the time being, Cleveland is probably the AL Central team most likely to be in first by season’s end — though the divine order of the White Sox remains the obvious story of the first half here.
Third Place: Minnesota Twins (41-46)
Top Position Player: Byron Buxton (2.9 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Joe Ryan (2.7 fWAR)
As they have for the first two months of the season, the Minnesota Twins have continued to tread water. In a normal year, they would be clear sellers at the Trade Deadline, as they do have some interesting pieces to trade even after last year’s fire sale, but this isn’t a normal year: somehow, the Twins find themselves just three games out of third Wild Card spot.
Minnesota’s main calling card this year has been their offense, as their 4.84 runs/game ranks second in the AL, behind only the Yankees and White Sox. Byron Buxton, of course, deserves the lion’s share of the credit, as he finally shows the league just how good a player he can be when consistently healthy. But he’s not the only catalyst for success. Even without catcher Ryan Jeffers, who was an early candidate for the All-Star starting lineup before hitting the IL with a broken hamate bone in May, Buxton has no shortage of secondary pieces around him. Trevor Larnach and Kody Clemens have been putting together career seasons, and Ryan Kreidler has been effective in a part-time role.
The pitching staff, on the other hand, has been a veritable disaster. Joe Ryan has rebounded nicely from a rough start to the season, and Taj Bradley has been decidedly above-average, but beyond them, the rotation has been a collection of has-beens and never-weres. The bullpen hasn’t been any better, although former Yankee prospect Yoendrys Gómez has settled in nicely as the team’s closer, with a 1.64 ERA in 25 appearances.
Fourth Place: Detroit Tigers (37-49)
Top Position Player: Dillon Dingler (3.8 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Casey Mize (2.3 fWAR)
Following a disastrous month in which they dropped from division contention to last place, the Tigers have largely treaded water, finishing the month with a record right around .500. Unfortunately for them, their 6-19 May has likely ruined their chances at contention, turning what was expected to be a season on contention into a lost opportunity — unless the light competition in the AL gets them back in it. (Looking at you, Yankees.)
The Tigers offense has been quite the enigma this season. Despite boasting five players with an OPS+ above 117 (Dillon Dingler, Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres, Kerry Carpenter, and AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Kevin McGonigle), the Tigers have averaged just 4.19 runs/game and have a team OPS+ of only 97. Part of this has been injury-related, as Torres has been out for more than two weeks with an oblique strain, but part of this is the sheer amount of dead wood in the lineup: the team’s most common designated hitter this season has been Jahmai Jones, who has a 27 OPS+ in 102 plate appearances. He’s not the only culprit, either, as other five players with an OPS+ below 80 have received regular playing time this season.
Because of these offense flaws, the Tigers were to have a prayer at returning to relevance this season, it would have to come from the starting rotation. The good news: between Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, and Troy Melton, Detroit has the arms to do just that. The bad news: barring a fierce turnaround, Skubal will likely be traded at some point this month, and both Valdez and Flaherty have been lackluster this season. The worse news: the bullpen is relying far too much on a pair of has-beens in Kenley Jansen and Will Vest. The worst news: the defense has been atrocious, with their -10 Defensive Runs Saved ranking 26th and -15 Outs Above Average ranking 24th entering play yesterday.
Last Place: Kansas City Royals (35-51)
Top Position Player: Bobby Witt Jr. (4.6 fWAR)
Top Pitcher: Michael Wacha (2.0 fWAR)
The second of the division’s two major disappointments, the Kansas City Royals have continued to be a one-man show, with superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on track at the halfway point for his first career MVP (albeit with a more defense-focused case). Outside of him, though? Jac Caglianone appears to finally be putting it together at the plate after a disastrous rookie campaign, as he posted a .322/.402/.678 slash line in June and hit more home runs (9) last month than he did all of last season following his promotion (7). Father Time has finally come for Salvador Perez, however, and the rest of the offense has been uninspiring.
On the mound, the situation has been similar. Michael Wacha (5-5, 3.81 ERA) has been solid, but is not the ace of a staff that wants to contend. Unfortunately, he is the Royals’ ace this season, pretty much by default. Seth Lugo started off the year strong, but was only middling in May before completely collapsing in June (6.52 ERA, .977 opposing OPS). Cole Ragans, meanwhile, is undergoing elbow surgery today, and Stephen Kolek has also joined him on the IL.
One month ago, Jonathan wrote, “The Royals bullpen could become an area of interest as the Trade Deadline approaches, [as] right-handers John Schreiber and Daniel Lynch IV have both put together strong seasons.”
Fast-forward 30 days, and both pitchers have largely continued that trend. Lynch has allowed zero or one run in ten of his eleven June appearances, while Schreiber has done the same in ten of his twelve.
